Brothers
by Christina's Inferno
Summary: In the moments before his fate is decided, Loki learns something that may change his perspective on redemption. Takes place immediately post-Avengers. THORKI one-shot


_**Author's Note- I **__**finally**__** saw The Avengers and this is what I came up with after many conversations about the amazingness of Thorki with my friends. One disclaimer: none of the stuff you recognize belongs to me, no matter how OOC it is. Also, reviews are always appreciated! **_

The Tesseract. Gagged, with Thor holding tightly to his wrists, all Loki could think of was the Tesseract. Not only had it and all the power that it promised been denied to him, he was now defeated and humiliated by the man he had once called "Brother" and the motley crew of beings known as the Avengers. Although he could not speak from the gag, he could still glare at Thor, who, while not exactly angry, seemed to be regarding Loki with a certain degree of frustration. Returned from Midgard to Asgard, the two now stood in a small room in Odin's palace.

"Brother."

Thor turned to Loki, who continued to glare. Until now, they had both been silent- Loki by force, Thor by choice- and Loki had appreciated this. He did not know what awaited him when he was brought before Odin, the king (he could not call the man "Father"), and he would have preferred to spend the time before that alone, or at the very least, in silence. After all that had happened, he had no use for Thor's company.

"Brother, I want to talk to you."

If Thor had been able to see Loki's mouth, he would have seen it twist into a smirk. Was Thor really that stupid? Did he not see that Loki physically could not talk? After all, he had been the one to gag him in the first place.

"Please tell me that if I remove this, you will control your tongue."

Loki made no effort to affirm or deny the statement. Thor sighed, but reached his hands behind Loki's head to remove the gag. His large hands were warm and gentle, but that did not stop Loki from recoiling at the touch of his adoptive brother. This man had fought to destroy everything that Loki had worked to win, had gone to great lengths to prevent Loki's plans from succeeding, had even teamed up with a group of Midgardians, just to stop him from controlling the Tesseract. How could he still pretend to care? How could he even call Loki "Brother"?

Finally free from the gag, Loki contemplated all the things he wanted to say to Thor, and which one he would say first. But before he could begin to berate the other man, Thor spoke.

"Please, Brother, don't be a martyr. Come back to us. I-"

But Loki cut him off.

"You are not my brother." he hissed at Thor. "You share no blood with me. We are not even the same kind."

Thor only looked at him sadly. "All the time we spent together as children, all the memories we share, the love we had for one another in our youth, that means nothing to you? Does our lack of shared blood trump our shared past to you, Loki?"

"If this is an attempt to bring me back into your family, to redeem me" Here Loki sneered. "It is failing. I will not let you dictate for me what it is that I should and should not do, Thor. You do not even care about-"

He was unable to finish before he had the wind knocked out of him by Thor, who had shoved him roughly and pinned Loki against the nearest wall, holding his hands to the wall above his shoulders. In response, he growled, a low, guttural noise emanating from his lips. If Thor heard, he gave no sign.

"You really believe that we do not, that I do not care about you Loki? That I am not concerned for you and your well-being? That when you went to Midgard and and were nearly killed that that was what I wanted?" he snapped. Loki said nothing. Thor was muscled and full of brute strength, unlike Loki, but the younger man was more intelligent, more clever. He knew he could manipulate Thor if he had to.

"You worked against me on Midgard." Loki's voice was low hiss compared to Thor's thundering roar. "You took from me the Tesseract, my power, my chance to prove that I was worthy of being a king."

"You would have enslaved the Midgardians for you own purposes, Brother. I could not let that happen."

"Because you want me to remain your inferior for as long as we both live!" It was Loki's turn to snap. "You are not my blood, you do not care for me, you simply get in my way!"

Thor's expression did not change. Anger was imprinted on his handsome features. "How many times must I tell you, Loki, Brother, that I do care for you? I do care for you as my own brother. The blood that runs in your veins means nothing to me! You are my brother and you cannot deny it or change it, nor can you change my love and caring for you!"

Loki's face twisted. "Prove it." he hissed at the blonde man.

Thor kissed him.

For a moment, Loki could not react. His brain told him this was some sort of dream, that he was not actually here, with Thor, mouths pressed together, that this moment could not possibly be real. And then he decided that no matter what this was, if it was punishment, if was real, if it was just fantasy tormenting him, it felt to damn good to ignore. He began probing the other man's mouth with his tongue, bodies pressed together, heat combining.

It was over all too quickly. Both of them stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Loki finally spoke.

"How long?"

Thor shook his head slightly, smiling. "Always."

"Always." Loki repeated.

"Don't you see, Brother? I have never wanted to overshadow you. I only want to keep you safe, to keep you with me."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "Is this really how you intend to show me that you believe we are truly brothers? By treating me as a lover?"

"You, Loki, frequently proclaim that we are not brothers. And if you are not my brother but I love you, what does that leave?"

For once, Thor had beaten Loki in a verbal battle and they both knew it. Thor continued. "I will always think of you as my brother, Loki. But I cannot ignore how I feel."

"And that is that you love me as a partner, not as just a brother, Thor? How?"

"I have known you my entire life, grown up with you, shared more with you than with anyone else. How could I not love you, Loki? I alone know what kind of person you. I know things, secrets, you would never reveal lest they ruin your facade of strength. But I know them, Brother, and I love you all the more for them."

Loki sank back against the wall. In a matter of minutes, his whole focus had changed. He wanted to survive, to know what came next, to have the future with Thor that was now glittering just out of reach in his head. "No matter how either of us feel, I cannot be redeemed. We both know this to be true."

"You only need ask." Thor told him. "You can be redeemed, Loki. You only need to repent, to accept that we are you family and that no matter your heritage, you are one of us."

"And my actions? The betrayals of the past? These can all just be waved away?" He was skeptical and perhaps a bit unrepentant. He could see a new future, yes, but he would always want to be ruling, to prove that he was dominate, that he was worthy, not just the son of Laufey.

"I cannot promise there will be complete forgiveness." Thor was somber. "But you must try, Loki. Please. For me. I could not bear a world, Asgard or other, without you."

Loki's throat felt swollen, like he could not force air through it to speak. He neither nodded nor shook his head. But he moved his face closer to his brother's, initiating another kiss. Perhaps this was all Thor needed to be assured, because when they separated, he stroked Loki's cheek with his hand, and the two stared into each other's eyes in silence for a few moments, until there came a knock on the door. It was two guards, come to take Loki to meet his fate.

He went without complaint. He must show strength. He must not falter, he knew that. But before he let the guards lead him away, he turned to Thor and nodded. He knew he was loved. Perhaps that was enough, regardless of what happened next.


End file.
